Document Type

Article

Publication Date

January 2018

First Page

1

Last Page

24

Abstract

Persons exposed to torture have suffered serious attacks on their lives, relationships, health, and sense of dignity. The torture they experienced will remain a part of them even if they manage to move ahead and work through the pain. The destructive power of torture affects life on so many levels: mind and body, values and relationships, and the capacity for work and leisure. Providing opportunities to reconstruct lives after torture should be a priority in the international effort to prevent and prohibit torture. International recognition of the right to redress, including rehabilitation for all victims of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, as provided in Article 14 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), is an important step in countering the negative effects of torture. Recognition of this right will shed light on the many aspects of rehabilitation and the different initiatives that States must undertake to comply with their obligation under Article 14. As such, the Committee Against Torture (Committee) developed General Comment 3 (GC 3) on Article 14, which "clarifies that the right to redress under [CAT] extends both to victims of torture and victims of 'ill-treatment."' This "reflects long-standing committee jurisprudence, which argues, inter alia, that ill-treatment as outlined in [A]rticle 16 also violates [CAT] and requires redress."

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